New York Adopts Rule Allowing Parties to Agree to 'Accelerated Adjudication' of Lawsuits in the Commercial Division of New York State Supreme Court

The New York state court has adopted a rule that will allow parties to agree to have a Commercial Division lawsuit heard on an expedited basis. The rule permits parties to agree in a contract that any lawsuit arising out of or related to the contract will be heard under the Commercial Division’s new “accelerated adjudication” process. The accelerated adjudication rule sharply limits discovery and requires that a case be ready for trial within nine months. The rule also deems both parties to have waived important rights (including the right to any interlocutory appeal and the right to a jury trial). Companies entering into a contract that provides for a New York state court forum for any dispute should give serious consideration to having the forum selection clause in their contract specify that the new accelerated adjudication process will apply to any lawsuit.